Camera support



A. A. JULIANO CAMERA SUPPORT Feb. 26, 1952 Filed Oct. '7, 1949 L rw VII mm w mm NA E L O MJ. A

A W w Patented Feb. 26, 1952 UNITED STATES OFFICE;

CAMERA SUPPORT- Arthur Aq Juliana Kansas City, Application October 7, 1940, r.Serial No. 120,090

,1; Claim.-A

This invention relates to camera supports, and moreparticularly .to a support for supporting a camera at various heights and angles on the person of a photographer.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved camera support including a base plate attachable to the camera by the camera tripod-,attaching screw, a neck strap at.- tachable by a bracket to the upper side of the camera and a carrying handle attachable to the camera by such. bracket, all Without material modication of the camera construction, which support will hold a camera rmly in position on the person of al photographer at various levels and inclinations so that the camera can be operated without movement or vibration and can be supported without use of the photographer-s hands, leaving the hands free for changing lms and lenses, operating flashlight apparatusand for .other purposes, and which support is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, neat and attractive in appearance, and attachable to different types of camerasrwithout substantial modification.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claim in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a somewhat diagrammatic illustration of acamera supported in operative position on the person of a photographer by a camera support, illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-section of the camera and camera Support substantially on the lline 2-2 of Figure l and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale of a fragmentary portion of the camera and a camera-supporting base plate, and is taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of one component of the camera support, a portion being broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction thereof;

Figure 5 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale of a fragmentary portion of the support component shown in Figure 4, and is taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is an elevation of a fragmentary end portion of a neck strap constituting a component of the camera support.

With continued reference to the drawing, the camera support comprises, in general, a base plate I0 attachable to the camera by the usual tripod screw threaded into a screw-receiving socket provided in the bottom side of the camera, a

right-angular bracket II Vreceiving an upper corner-of the camera and attached to the camera by a screw threaded into another tripod screwreceiving socket provided in a side wall of the camera`a neckv strap. I2 detachably secured at its ends to the leg ofthe bracket II at the upper sideof the camera, and a. carrying handle i3 secured to the other leg of the bracket II,

The arrangement is such that the base plate I0 providesva ,restor fulcrum positioned to bear upon the chest of thevphotosrapher, at the bottorn of thecamera, while the neck strap I2 passes around the photographers neck and supports the upper end ofthe camera, as is clearly illustrated in Figure l. By moving the plate Iii upwardly or downwardlyl the. elevation and inclination of the` camera can. be changed, as may be desired, and the .camera can be supported entirely withn out .the usesofr the hands of the photographer.

The camera illustrated has a. rectangular, boxlike. body including top and bottom Walls I4 and I5, respectively, side walls I6 and I'I, a rear filinreceiving wall I8 and ay movable, lens-carrying Wall I9 mounted at its bottom edge on a guide- Way 420,v hinged to the bottom Wall I5 and normally providing a closure for the front side oi' the camera. A conventional View nder 2| is mounted on the top wall of the camera near the end of the top wall connected to the upper end of the side wall I1, and iiashlight equipment 22 is shown attached to the camera along the side wall I1.

The base plate I0 is a thin-walled body of suitable material, such as a hard rubber or a synthetic resin plastic, having two legs 23 and 24 disposed at an angle of approximately ll-degrees to each other, and interconnected at their adja cent ends by an intermediate portion 25.

The leg 23 is rectangular in shape, and is provided, near its outer end with an aperture 26 through which is inserted a screw 21 threaded into a tripod screw-receiving socket 28 provided in the bottom wall of the camera. The screw 21 securely attaches the base plate I0 to the bottom wall of the camera and, if desired, a washer 29 of resilient material can be disposed between the base plate and the outer end of the socket 28 to render this connection slightly resilient and hold the leg 23 of the base plate in spaced relationship to the bottom wall of the camera.

The base plate leg 24 is substantially square in shape. and has secured, on its outer side, two rectangular pads 30 and 3| of suitable, resilient material, such as rubber. These pads 30 and 3I are secured to the base plate by suitable means.

such as by being cemented thereto. and spaced apart in substantially parallel relationship and are preferably hollow, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 3, to give greater resiliency to their outer surfaces. The outer surfaces of the pads are roughened or provided with transverse ribs 32 to augment the frictional effect of these surfaces, so that the pads will not slip on the clothing of the photographer carrying the camera.

A flat spring 33 is connected, near one end, to the base plate leg 24 on the side of the leg opposite the pads and 3l, and extends transversely across this leg of the base plate to hold such objects as memoranda sheets and similar nat objects.

The right-angular or L-shaped bracket Il is preferably formed of flat metal stock and comprises two legs 34 and 35 disposed substantially at right angles to each other and having a lengthv somewhat less than the length of the corresponding side and top walls of the camera.

The leg 35 is provided with an aperture which receives a screw 3'6 which screw is threaded into a tripod screwereceiving socket 31 provided in the side wall IG of the camera to detachably secure the bracket Il to the camera. The handle I3 comprises a pair of apertured angle members 38 and 39 secured to the leg 35 near respectivelyopposite ends of the latter., by suitable means, such as the screws 40 and 4|, andproviding eyes receiving the looped ends of the handle strap 42. A plate 43 is placed on the intermediate portion of the leg 35 and apertured to receive the screw 3G providing a flush surface with the eye members 38 and 39.

Two upstanding loop formations 44 and 45 are secured to the bracket leg 34 aty spaced-apart locations therealong, and Dshaped rings 46 and 41 are pivotally secured in the upper or outer ends of these loop formations, respectively.

The neck strap I2 is an elongated strap of iixeible material, such as leather, having secured to the opposite ends thereof snaphooks 4B and.

49 which are respectively engageable with the rings 46 and 41. These hooks are preferably se- 4 cured to the ends of the strap by swivel connections, as indicated at 50 in Figure 6.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is: The combination with a camera of a camera e support assembly comprising a rest secured to the camera at one side of the latter and adapted to bear on the chest of a person supporting the camera. a bracket secured to the camera at the sidethereof opposite said one side, and an elongated exible element secured at its ends to said bracket and adapted to extend around the neck of a person supporting the camera to support the camera in picture taking position, said rest comprising a plate like structure having two flat legs disposed at an angle less than degrees to each other, a screw carried by one of said legs and attaching said rest to the camera, and a pad of resilient material secured to the other of'said legs and having a friction augmenting outer surface.

ARTHUR A. JULIANO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of vrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 332,123 Walton Dec. 8, 1885 817,207 Wheeler Apr. 10, 1906 1,993,485 Paul Mar. 5,1935 2,270,931 Corcoran Jan. 27, 1942 2,357,377 Bausch Sept. 5, 1944 2,437,405 Robinson Mar. 9, 1948 

